{"id":5379,"date":"2022-06-23T14:27:32","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T14:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=5379"},"modified":"2022-06-23T14:30:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T14:30:19","slug":"five-black-service-members-shaping-contemporary-military-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/23\/five-black-service-members-shaping-contemporary-military-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Black Service Members Shaping Contemporary Military History"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/strong><\/em> Lt. Col. Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell, Ret., 1st Black female fighter pilot for the Air Force – courtesy U.A. Air Force<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Special to The Truth<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Black Americans have served in the U.S. Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War, paving the way for Black service members today.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also important we foster an inclusive environment across the USO (United Service Organizations). One consistent finding of our service member surveys is the diverse population we serve feels welcome, supported, and included when visiting the USO,\u201d said J.D. Crouch II, USO CEO and president. \u201cWe should feel very proud of this but always stay attuned to improving the experience for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Juneteenth, the USO shared five stories of modern-day service members who are shaping contemporary military history.<\/p>\n

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Lt. Gen. Nadja Y. West, Ret.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Retired Lt. General Nadja West<\/strong> is no stranger to being a \u201cfirst.\u201d In 2013, West became the first Black female major general of the Army\u2019s active component, as well as the Army Medicine\u2019s first Black female two-star general. In 2015, she became the first Black surgeon general of the Army. Finally, in 2016, she became the first Black female lieutenant general and highest-ranking woman to graduate from West Point.<\/p>\n

With more than 20 years of experience, she\u2019s proved herself a decisive leader, helping lead the Department of Defense (DOD) through crafting the response to the Ebola crisis, and managing an $11 billion budget and 130,000 healthcare workers when she was commanding general of Medical Command.<\/p>\n

Retired Lt. Col. Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell <\/strong>made headlines when she became the first Black female fighter pilot for the Air Force. Throughout her school years, she set her sights on the sky. As a kindergartner, she wanted to be an astronaut, but soon shifted her focus from spaceships to jets. Determined, she joined the Civil Air Patrol, worked at air shows, earned a private pilot\u2019s license and earned a spot in the Air Force Academy.<\/p>\n

Although naysayers told her to have a back-up plan because they believed her goals were unrealistic, to Kimbrell, that wasn\u2019t an option. In 1988, Kimbrell graduated from the Air Force Academy and earned her pilot wings the following year. She\u2019s now a decorated Air Force veteran, having earned an Air Medal, an Aerial Achievement Medal and an Army Commendation Medal, just to name a few. With a full, successful military career behind her, Kimbrell shows no signs of slowing down. Today, she dedicates her days to help future officers at the Air Force Academy, where she teaches physical education and is the academy\u2019s Director of Culture, Climate and Diversity.<\/p>\n

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Janie Mines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first-ever Black female plebe to attend and graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, Janie L. Mines<\/strong> first stepped onto campus in 1976. \u201cThe academy wasn\u2019t ready for [women],\u201d Mines said in an interview with the DOD. \u201cIt just happened quickly, and it needed to be done. The academy considered itself to be a combat school, and [women] were not allowed to serve in combat. So, we were seen as taking up spots for good combat officers that were needed, because we \u2018couldn\u2019t do the job.\u2019 Additionally, there was a general belief that as Black women \u2026 I would not be able to lead in what was at that time a white-male Navy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being accepted to other prestigious universities, Mines was determined to attend the Academy and answer the call to serve. \u201cWhen the Academy contacted me and said I was going to be the only Black woman who would be admitted, I felt like it was something I had to do.\u201d After graduation, Mines went on to become a lieutenant in the Navy Supply Corps and one of the first women to ever serve on a Navy ship. Today, she mentors young midshipmen, is the author of \u201cNo Coincidences: Reflections of the First Black Female Graduate of the United States Naval Academy\u201d and is a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service.<\/p>\n

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Gen. Lloyd James Austin, III, Commander, United States Army Central Command, poses for a portrait in the Army portrait studio at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, Apr 4, 2016. (U.S. Army photo by Monica King\/Released).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On January 21, 2021, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin<\/strong> was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a near-unanimous vote to become the first Black defense secretary of the United States. A retired Army four-star general, he previously attended West Point and was soon commissioned as a second lieutenant. Austin served more than 40 years in the Army. He was the 33rd vice chief of staff of the branch and was the last commanding general of the U.S. Forces \u2013 Iraq Operation New Dawn.<\/p>\n

In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed him commander of United States Central Command, making Austin the first Black person to ever hold the position. In 2016, he retired from the military as a decorated and distinguished Army veteran with many honors, including a Silver Star and Humanitarian Service Medal. In the private sector, he served on several boards until President Joe Biden nominated him to be secretary of defense in 2021 — where he serves today.<\/p>\n

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Col. Merryl Tengesdal, Ret.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Retired Col. Merryl Tengesdal<\/strong> is the first, and currently the only, Black woman to fly a U-2 spy plane, which is utilized for the Air Force\u2019s high-altitude missions. After graduating from the University of New Haven, Tengesdal first served in the Navy flying helicopters. She went on to become an instructor pilot, training Navy and Air Force students at Joint Student Undergraduate Pilot Training. She transferred to the Air Force when her Naval obligation was complete.<\/p>\n

Though she describes being the first Black woman to fly a U-2 plane as \u201csurreal,\u201d she also says it\u2019s a \u201cblind spot.\u201d \u201cI try not to get caught up in being the only Black female. I just want to keep being inspirational and motivational for other people,\u201d Tengesdal said. During training, Tengesdal\u2019s instructors told her there would always be people who would say she was there because of her race and gender, and others who would say she shouldn\u2019t be there because of those things. One instructor reminded her that she was incredibly talented and would keep proving to others that she belongs at the top \u2013 and soon enough, the critics wouldn\u2019t have those excuses anymore. Today, she reflects on that conversation in instances of self-doubt. Tengesdal retired in 2017 and has had many adventures since, including being a contestant on \u201cTough as Nails,\u201d a CBS reality show.<\/p>\n

Diversity and inclusion are central to the USO\u2019s values and mission. To learn more about the USO\u2019s commitment to diversity and inclusion visit https:\/\/www.uso.org\/diversity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Courtesy Statepoint<\/em><\/p>\n

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  Special to The Truth   Black Americans have served in the U.S. Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War, paving the way for Black service members today. \u201cIt is also important we foster an inclusive environment across the USO (United Service Organizations). One consistent finding of our service member surveys is the diverse population we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,17],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[127],"class_list":["post-5379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headline","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5379"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5388,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379\/revisions\/5388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5379"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=5379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}